2024-25 Season Discussion and Speculation Part IV

[bwgood77]

I don't see why KD would want the Spurs.

[bullsaficianado]

I don't see why KD would want the Spurs.

To play with Fox and Wembanyama. Add Durant to that and it's a matchup nightmare for all NBA teams.

[BobbieL]

Booker is fine, we can do a mini rebuild with KD and see where we’re at in 3 years. Everyone is just down on book because they are down on everything suns.

So three years of being the 7-10 seed at best so Booker loses more value

It might not be popular to trade him. But should be done

To add to that. I ain’t down on Booker because we are down on everything. I’ve never been a huge fan of Bookers game. He’s not exactly an athletic freak, he’s not going to dominate a game on defense, he’s not going to get to the basket at will, he never has made everyone around him better, he’s never going be a leader. He’s just a jump shooter with a limited skill set who takes a high volume of shots and sometimes goes foul hunting to the detriment to the team. In reality, he’s the 3rd best player on a championship contender.

A “mini” rebuild is just spinning wheels in the mud. Won’t work and can’t work while Booker is on this team. This team needs a full blown reset!

I think Durant will bring back nice players, picks and if the trade is done correctly, get you below the tax apron. But depending on the trade - I don't think the Suns are contenders. Hence, what is the next part of building the roster.

Well the team still won't have draft picks
Not too many players to trade for real assets except one - thats Booker

So trade Durant and Booker - see if you can attach O'Neal or Allen in a deal - get some picks, some young players, expirings so you can start operating under the aprons to make real trades, use the MLE, etc.

Keeping Booker for some sentimental or appearances with the fans - not going to cut it. And with Beal - maybe he plays well next season but in the summer of 2026 - maybe there is a deal you can make with his expiring to bring back other bad contracts but at least the other bad contracts are more tradeable. Or Beal rides it out and you get the cap space in two years.

For me, that should be the goal -- survive for two years, churning roster, making "Presti or Ainge" type trades that might seem like not much but its setting up the next... and in the summer of 2027, Beal is gone and you can really make headways

[BobbieL]

I would avoid Spurs trade offers because you just know it help them get another 5 rings while Suns get late first rounders that amount to nothing.

Rockets is only team that makes sense for Suns.
Either they send an Amen and a first rounder package with salary filler...or 4 first rounders and salary filler... or a Jalen Green and a couple first rounders and filler.

I think it's possible Durant will dictate a trade to Spurs so Suns will have no choice. I like Vassell, Johnson and Sochan. The trade will leave them a little thin but it's for Durant so whatever. We will get their young players.

Booker to Rockets and yes Green definitely or no deal.

Green for Booker becomes much easier this summer as his new contract kicks in -- get those picks back

As for Durant - I am not choosy. Get the best deal that makes the most sense.

[bwgood77]

I don't see why KD would want the Spurs.

To play with Fox and Wembanyama. Add Durant to that and it's a matchup nightmare for all NBA teams.

That's the answer I exxpected, but I don't see him wanting to play with them. He will likely want to play with people he knows well.

[sunsbg]

I don't see why KD would want the Spurs.

To play with Fox and Wembanyama. Add Durant to that and it's a matchup nightmare for all NBA teams.

That's the answer I exxpected, but I don't see him wanting to play with them. He will likely want to play with people he knows well.

...Like Curry and Draymond. If that's the case then how many teams are left ? Mavs, Clippers ? DAL is a realistic option if he wants to play with Kyrie again. Hope Mavs have not traded their '32 pick.

[bwgood77]

To play with Fox and Wembanyama. Add Durant to that and it's a matchup nightmare for all NBA teams.

That's the answer I exxpected, but I don't see him wanting to play with them. He will likely want to play with people he knows well.

...Like Curry and Draymond. If that's the case then how many teams are left ? Mavs, Clippers ? DAL is a realistic option if he wants to play with Kyrie again. Hope Mavs have not traded their '32 pick.

Yeah, teams like those. Maybe Miami. Not sure about Minnesota. Not that it really matters. But SA wouldn't give up Castle so there isn't really anyone I'd want. Not sure they'd want to give up Vassell either. So it would be like Keldon Johnson and Sochan or something? Tre Jones? Not really excited about that. I don't think they'd be terribly interested either because they are not ready to contend for a title, even with 37 year old KD, and should develop to get there, have a couple runs in the playoffs before they go for winning it all. Not be like the Suns, and then make it once after building a good team, and then when you go out in the 2nd round the next year you blow it all up and trade a ton of future picks.

[bullsaficianado]

That's the answer I exxpected, but I don't see him wanting to play with them. He will likely want to play with people he knows well.

...Like Curry and Draymond. If that's the case then how many teams are left ? Mavs, Clippers ? DAL is a realistic option if he wants to play with Kyrie again. Hope Mavs have not traded their '32 pick.

Yeah, teams like those. Maybe Miami. Not sure about Minnesota. Not that it really matters. But SA wouldn't give up Castle so there isn't really anyone I'd want. Not sure they'd want to give up Vassell either. So it would be like Keldon Johnson and Sochan or something? Tre Jones? Not really excited about that. I don't think they'd be terribly interested either because they are not ready to contend for a title, even with 37 year old KD, and should develop to get there, have a couple runs in the playoffs before they go for winning it all. Not be like the Suns, and then make it once after building a good team, and then when you go out in the 2nd round the next year you blow it all up and trade a ton of future picks.

If they don't give up all of Vassell,Johnson,Sochan and some of their top picks for KD than they can bite dust no deal. It's KD. We had to give up a kings ransom to get him. We are not getting Castle they won't give him up.

[BobbieL]

...Like Curry and Draymond. If that's the case then how many teams are left ? Mavs, Clippers ? DAL is a realistic option if he wants to play with Kyrie again. Hope Mavs have not traded their '32 pick.

Yeah, teams like those. Maybe Miami. Not sure about Minnesota. Not that it really matters. But SA wouldn't give up Castle so there isn't really anyone I'd want. Not sure they'd want to give up Vassell either. So it would be like Keldon Johnson and Sochan or something? Tre Jones? Not really excited about that. I don't think they'd be terribly interested either because they are not ready to contend for a title, even with 37 year old KD, and should develop to get there, have a couple runs in the playoffs before they go for winning it all. Not be like the Suns, and then make it once after building a good team, and then when you go out in the 2nd round the next year you blow it all up and trade a ton of future picks.

If they don't give up all of Vassell,Johnson,Sochan and some of their top picks for KD than they can bite dust no deal. It's KD. We had to give up a kings ransom to get him. We are not getting Castle they won't give him up.

Two problems I see with your rationale
1) The Suns completely overpaid for Durant but at the time, he had 3 years left on his deal. Now he will have one year. And getting similar value for Durant is not realistic because he is older and the Suns overpaid.

2) The Suns cannot keep Durant after this summer. If the organization wants to rebuild, he has to be traded. So, in that case, you take a good solid deal. The Suns are not in a position to demand or hold a team hostage as they might just walk away and leave the Suns empty handed.

For me - a good grade from Kevin Pelton will be something like:
B: ".. Suns got a couple FRPs, one nice player in X and expirings in Y and Z and this gets them under the second apron and starts the rebuild process."

[Slim Charless]

...Like Curry and Draymond. If that's the case then how many teams are left ? Mavs, Clippers ? DAL is a realistic option if he wants to play with Kyrie again. Hope Mavs have not traded their '32 pick.

Yeah, teams like those. Maybe Miami. Not sure about Minnesota. Not that it really matters. But SA wouldn't give up Castle so there isn't really anyone I'd want. Not sure they'd want to give up Vassell either. So it would be like Keldon Johnson and Sochan or something? Tre Jones? Not really excited about that. I don't think they'd be terribly interested either because they are not ready to contend for a title, even with 37 year old KD, and should develop to get there, have a couple runs in the playoffs before they go for winning it all. Not be like the Suns, and then make it once after building a good team, and then when you go out in the 2nd round the next year you blow it all up and trade a ton of future picks.

If they don't give up all of Vassell,Johnson,Sochan and some of their top picks for KD than they can bite dust no deal. It's KD. We had to give up a kings ransom to get him. We are not getting Castle they won't give him up.

That's a good deal. Spurs would be wise to take it. I think that Miami (Ware+Jovic plus picks) and Houston (our picks back plus Jabari and Whitmore) will be on the table as well. Not counting whoever has a disappointing playoff run. Any of those will be a great haul for him to get going.

Only thing I worry about is him forcing our hand to Boston and making us take Jrue, Horford and whatever lame picks the Celts will have. I think he and Tatum are close, not sure how close.

[Frank Lee]

Yall might be spinnin wheels

What’s the odds here? ….. I give 80/20 Wishbia and his gang just tinker around the edges. To think anything else is ignoring his brashness. Some team will have to offer the farm for KD or Book and the MadMatter will have to ****can his ring hopes for the next 5 years.

I don’t think he’s there yet, nor is a team willing to gut their roster in the necessary manner. The bigger question is if KD signs an extension. He may opt for the flexibility to go wherever he wants for his final mercenary assignment.

[Ghost of Kleine]

I don't see why KD would want the Spurs.

I mean sure, aside from playing with and mentoring Wemby the biggest generational talent both in stature and hype that somewhat embodies some of Kds very rare traits as a 7+ foot very smooth, mobile, agile unstoppable superstar player that's absurdly long and versatile. Which would only add to his legacy with Wemby carrying his archetype legacy into the future.

And aside from playing with De Aaron Fox and playing for Pop who just happened to coach him in 2016 and more recently in 2020 for team USA in Tokyo. And possibly finishing his career playing for a historic franchise, you're probably right man.


Although, we're talking about a 1 yr deal anyways, and it worst, San Antonio could just rent him to advance their odds of making the playoffs and also advancing their competitive development. But wouldn't be on the hook for paying him long term. And then KD could go wherever he wants as a free agent to finish his career on a team of his choice??

I'm curious man. Where would you see KD most preferring to go? As I do think you make a good point that Ishbia would try to appease KD by helping trade him to his preferred destination if possible. By the way, wasn't Udoka also his coach for a brief time? And didn't KD push for Udoka to replace Nash as head coach for the Nets during his time there.

Anyways, I'm probably wrong about any possibility of KD playing in San Antonio, just like I was wrong about Chris Paul playing there.....lol.

[BobbieL]

Yeah, teams like those. Maybe Miami. Not sure about Minnesota. Not that it really matters. But SA wouldn't give up Castle so there isn't really anyone I'd want. Not sure they'd want to give up Vassell either. So it would be like Keldon Johnson and Sochan or something? Tre Jones? Not really excited about that. I don't think they'd be terribly interested either because they are not ready to contend for a title, even with 37 year old KD, and should develop to get there, have a couple runs in the playoffs before they go for winning it all. Not be like the Suns, and then make it once after building a good team, and then when you go out in the 2nd round the next year you blow it all up and trade a ton of future picks.

If they don't give up all of Vassell,Johnson,Sochan and some of their top picks for KD than they can bite dust no deal. It's KD. We had to give up a kings ransom to get him. We are not getting Castle they won't give him up.

That's a good deal. Spurs would be wise to take it. I think that Miami (Ware+Jovic plus picks) and Houston (our picks back plus Jabari and Whitmore) will be on the table as well. Not counting whoever has a disappointing playoff run. Any of those will be a great haul for him to get going.

Only thing I worry about is him forcing our hand to Boston and making us take Jrue, Horford and whatever lame picks the Celts will have. I think he and Tatum are close, not sure how close.

This is why you take a good deal for Durant as the alternative is missing a good deal and getting a worse deal

Booker should still be an A trade - though I think moving on from him now is more prudent than keeping him. But Durant, just move on from him

[Ghost of Kleine]

To play with Fox and Wembanyama. Add Durant to that and it's a matchup nightmare for all NBA teams.

That's the answer I exxpected, but I don't see him wanting to play with them. He will likely want to play with people he knows well.

...Like Curry and Draymond. If that's the case then how many teams are left ? Mavs, Clippers ? DAL is a realistic option if he wants to play with Kyrie again. Hope Mavs have not traded their '32 pick.

Well I mean for sure he doesn't like Draymond after Green called him a bitch post finals run. And he also had issues with some of the GS fans criticizing him for choosing to leave for Brooklyn.

But KD despite being very sensitive obviously as we've all come to know over the years, has a strong friendship to Curry and may still want to play alongside of both Curry and Butler to finish out his career possibly too.

As for the Spurs though and the premise of playing with people he knows, Popovich was his team USA coach twice in 2016 and 2020 and he may have interest in playing alongside and mentoring young Wemby as the very rare 7 ft plus super long super versatile archetype that could help carry on his legacy as an unstoppable 7 foot unicorn generational superstar just as he was.


Now I'm not sayingthat San Antonio is our best or only option for a KD trade. But like many teams that'll pursue him this summer, they have some intriguing assets and players that we might be interested in

[sunsbum]

Yall might be spinnin wheels

What’s the odds here? ….. I give 80/20 Wishbia and his gang just tinker around the edges. To think anything else is ignoring his brashness. Some team will have to offer the farm for KD or Book and the MadMatter will have to ****can his ring hopes for the next 5 years.

I don’t think he’s there yet, nor is a team willing to gut their roster in the necessary manner. The bigger question is if KD signs an extension. He may opt for the flexibility to go wherever he wants for his final mercenary assignment.

this is why I’m not even entertaining book stuff cause I know Matt isn’t interested in a full blown rebuild. If I knew they were willing to go scorched earth on our roster I’d be all for it but it doesn’t seem likely. I definitely think we can still build around book if we can find a leader and someone that can take pressure off him with their penetration. If we do a wolves trade I think Jayden McDaniels is a great starting piece.

[Djedefre]

Let's be clear - no one could've done anything meaningful with this trainwreck of a roster. Many people pointed it out when we hired Bud. But, having said that, although Bud was never the best of the best, he is a solid coach. Trouble is, he really looks apathetic, disengaged and disinterested most of the time. It's perfectly reasonable after the tragedy. On top of that, if we finally take a new direction and start a full rebuild, he's a very poor choice going forward. I have no doubt he's a better coach overall than Vogel but our interests do not align right now. I will say yet again - bring Lloyd here and give the man some time with a new, young core.

What Lloyd? Lloyd Pierce? Tommy Lloyd? Lloyd Dobler? Some other Lloyd?

Tommy, ofc. He is a great bball mind and still pretty young. I'm convinced he could be a long term solution, provided our clown of an owner let's everyone do their friggin job, steps back and hires a proper GM to build a team.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Let's be clear - no one could've done anything meaningful with this trainwreck of a roster. Many people pointed it out when we hired Bud. But, having said that, although Bud was never the best of the best, he is a solid coach. Trouble is, he really looks apathetic, disengaged and disinterested most of the time. It's perfectly reasonable after the tragedy. On top of that, if we finally take a new direction and start a full rebuild, he's a very poor choice going forward. I have no doubt he's a better coach overall than Vogel but our interests do not align right now. I will say yet again - bring Lloyd here and give the man some time with a new, young core.

What Lloyd? Lloyd Pierce? Tommy Lloyd? Lloyd Dobler? Some other Lloyd?

Tommy, ofc. He is a great bball mind and still pretty young. I'm convinced he could be a long term solution, provided our clown of an owner let's everyone do their friggin job, steps back and hires a proper GM to build a team.

Darn! When you said Lloyd I first jumped to .....................


Lloyd Christmas which would obviously track well with our clown show front office and dumpster fire situation....lol.

[bwgood77]

I don't see why KD would want the Spurs.

I mean sure, aside from playing with and mentoring Wemby the biggest generational talent both in stature and hype that somewhat embodies some of Kds very rare traits as a 7+ foot very smooth, mobile, agile unstoppable superstar player that's absurdly long and versatile. Which would only add to his legacy with Wemby carrying his archetype legacy into the future.

And aside from playing with De Aaron Fox and playing for Pop who just happened to coach him in 2016 and more recently in 2020 for team USA in Tokyo. And possibly finishing his career playing for a historic franchise, you're probably right man.


Although, we're talking about a 1 yr deal anyways, and it worst, San Antonio could just rent him to advance their odds of making the playoffs and also advancing their competitive development. But wouldn't be on the hook for paying him long term. And then KD could go wherever he wants as a free agent to finish his career on a team of his choice??

I'm curious man. Where would you see KD most preferring to go? As I do think you make a good point that Ishbia would try to appease KD by helping trade him to his preferred destination if possible. By the way, wasn't Udoka also his coach for a brief time? And didn't KD push for Udoka to replace Nash as head coach for the Nets during his time there.

Anyways, I'm probably wrong about any possibility of KD playing in San Antonio, just like I was wrong about Chris Paul playing there.....lol.

I am not sure where he would want to go. Really it doesn't matter if we get a reasonable deal from a team willing to risk him to leave after 1 year.

But I think he would be ok with either LA team, GS after giving it more thought, though my bet is they will decide they'd rather have Jimmy anyway. Miami I think he'd be good with. Dallas he'd definitely probably be ok with. I'm sure Boston, NY, etc, but I don't really see them going after him. I don't know about Minnesota. I don't know how close him and Edwards are. Bucks? Maybe. Possibly Denver.

[bwgood77]

Let's be clear - no one could've done anything meaningful with this trainwreck of a roster. Many people pointed it out when we hired Bud. But, having said that, although Bud was never the best of the best, he is a solid coach. Trouble is, he really looks apathetic, disengaged and disinterested most of the time. It's perfectly reasonable after the tragedy. On top of that, if we finally take a new direction and start a full rebuild, he's a very poor choice going forward. I have no doubt he's a better coach overall than Vogel but our interests do not align right now. I will say yet again - bring Lloyd here and give the man some time with a new, young core.

What Lloyd? Lloyd Pierce? Tommy Lloyd? Lloyd Dobler? Some other Lloyd?

Tommy, ofc. He is a great bball mind and still pretty young. I'm convinced he could be a long term solution, provided our clown of an owner let's everyone do their friggin job, steps back and hires a proper GM to build a team.

Yeah, the way he has AZ playing stifling defense and hustling for 50/50 balls is nice. A lot of offensive rebounds too. Not sure I want him to leave AZ though.

[Ghost of Kleine]

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I wondr why exactly???

Could it have anything to do with their glaringly bad biases and horrific missed calls?